Ode to Osaka

5 June 2015–13 September 2015

The National Museum – Architecture, The Fehn Pavilion and The Vault

In 1970 Sverre Fehn took part in a competition to design the Nordic Pavilion for the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, without winning. Fehn's proposal has now been recreated at the National Museum – Architecture, in the exhibition pavilion that was also designed by Fehn (1997–2008). Fehn’s concept for a breathing pavilion consists of two inflatable forms, in which the fresh air would stand in contrast to Osaka's heavily polluted air outside. Seventy-seven countries contributed to the exhibition, the main theme of which was “Progress and Harmony for Mankind”. In The Vault, Fehn's project is juxtaposed with the futuristic visions and architectural experiments that were actually built for Expo '70 in Osaka, and for which the event is remembered.